The present invention relates to a multipole electrical plug connector which is provided with a mating connector for a disconnectable connection having essentially one or more contact elements, as well as electrical strip conductors which lead to the contact elements and which jointly form a pressed screen designed as a one-piece part.
Plug connectors of the general type mentioned above are already available in innumerable designs. They have a plurality of contact elements which are positioned in multiple rows, as well as side by side. In particular plug connectors having a pressed screen, i.e., having individual strip conductors leading to the contact elements punched out of strip conductor sheet metal, are, generally, embedded in or injected into a plastic carrier. The contact elements jointly with the strip conductors are also punched out of strip conductor sheet metal, and are subsequently appropriately bent in an additional manufacturing process.
Due to the fact that the contact elements and the strip conductors are manufactured together in one punching operation, it is necessary to make the material thickness of the strip conductors equal to the thickness of the contact elements. Thus, the material thickness of the strip conductor is overdimensioned. It is also necessary to manufacture a separate punching tool for each contact element design. This means that for different configurations of a plug connector, different punching tools must be available.
An object of the present invention is to provide a plug connector by using one pressed screen which is usable universally.
In accordance with an example embodiment of the present invention, a universally usable pressed screen is manufactured in one operation, the pressed screen being suitable for a plurality of positioning possibilities of contact elements. As a function of the appropriate assembly diagram of the contact elements, one or more receptacles, provided at the free ends of the strip conductors, may optionally be assigned to the contact elements.
An advantage of the example embodiment of the present invention may be that a single pressed screen is adjustable to various connector designs, i.e., different arrangements of the contact elements. The contact elements necessary for the particular plug connector are plugged into the receptacles and fixedly attached by turning; the receptacles may be in the form of a through-hole, for example, having a rectangular cross-section. The unit, including the pressed screen or the strip conductor, together with the contact elements, is extrusion coated in an additional operation using plastic, so that the contact elements are fixedly joined with the particular strip conductors.
In contrast to the available variations, a considerable cost advantage may result from the fact that only a small number of punching tools is necessary in order to manufacture a plurality of connector designs.
An additional advantage of the example embodiment of the present invention may be the reduction of the material thickness of the pressed screen, since it is not bound to the material thickness of the contact elements. This entails a cost advantage with regard to a lower material usage.
Another advantage of the example embodiment of the present invention may be that the contact elements are treatable before they are joined with the pressed screen. The contact elements may be advantageously treated by using a cost-effective drum coating method. Since conventionally, strip conductor and contact elements have a one-piece design, it was necessary to run the finished component through a treatment bath. Since the strip conductors are also treated in this way, more coating material is used as may be necessary.